I was expecting this to be a YA romance after reading the previous book by this author (loosely connected to this book), Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but this is more of a queer coming-of-age story. That was fine by me, but just know that going in.

Malinda Lo's writing is a bit sparse and plain in a way that doesn't totally appeal to me, and I think that was more obvious in the contemporary(ish) setting of this book. But where I think this book really shines is the characters and relationships. The familial relationships are complicated and tense, with a real sense of history behind them. And the romance has that kind of painful intensity that hurts so good, ugh.

I was worried about how this one would wrap up, but I think it ends on a perfectly bittersweet note.

CW: death, grief, infidelity, slut shaming, abandonment